Cats hold off Pokes, 66-58

STILLWATER, Okla. — The three-for-one special Kansas State was manipulating through good defense and poor foul shooting worked out just fine Saturday.

The Wildcats missed 13 of their first 18 free throws, yet eventually began connecting from the line where shots count for one point.

Along the arc, where shots count for 3, their defense held Oklahoma State — led by the most prolific bomber in the Big 12, Keiton Page — to one trey.

The result? Unusual. The Wildcats topped the Cowboys 66-58, ending an 11-game skid in Gallagher-Iba Arena, where K-State won for the first time since 1993.

“Going into conference play, we’d done our best job with our team defense than we had in our five years at the school, then we slipped,’’ K-State coach Frank Martin said.

Bad enough that the Cats came in allowing the most points (72.6) in conference play on the worst defensive shooting percentage (.466).

“We didn’t slip because the players changed,’’ Martin added, “but because I started putting my focus on different things. We’ve gotten back to practicing the things that are important to us and make us who we are, rather than re-creating the wheel.’’

The wheels on both teams were quite wobbly at times.

The Cats recovered to make 18 of their last 22 free throws, yet a 13-point lead was whittled to three on — take a guess — the only 3-pointer the Cowboys made.

Hounded most of the game by Will Spradling, as well as other Cats who fought through screens, Page connected with 2:01 remaining to make it 59-56. Until then, the Pokes clanked, aired and bricked 14 straight 3-point attempts. Page went 1-for-9 from that distance yet led all scorers with 17 points.

“He may be the smallest player in the Big 12, by stature, but he’s got heart,’’ Martin said of the Cowboys’ 5-foot-9 senior. “It’s not easy to do that to him, because he never gets rattled. But our team stayed the course.’’

Travis Ford had a little different take. Even after the teams combined for 52 fouls and 69 free throws (the Cats made 23 on a season-high 40 attempts), the OSU coach complained of the pounding his sparkplug absorbs.

“Teams try to stop Keiton Page and bear hug him and not let him get (the ball) and bump him,’’ Ford said.

“I just don’t grasp why he doesn’t get the respect (from officials) he deserves out there on the court, and I’m sick of it,’’ Ford added. “Everybody is just all over him. This kid is giving it everything he has got, and he can’t even walk the next day.’’

Call it however you want to, but for Kansas State (14-4, 3-3 Big 12) it was all about getting back to basics.

Even without suspended forward Jordan Henriquez, the Cats forged a 50-29 command of the glass as senior Jamar Samuels posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Adrian Diaz added nine boards while logging a season-high 24 minutes.

Most importantly, K-State didn’t fold after Page’s 3. Instead, it went on a 7-0 spree while holding Oklahoma State (9-10, 2-4) scoreless on four straight possessions.

Such fortitude has been missing a long time from the Wildcats on visits here, though empty seats were prevalent and Gallagher-Iba wasn’t anywhere close to its deafening potential.

“A win on the road in the Big 12 is always good,’’ Samuels said. “To be in Stillwater makes it a lot better. To know we came in here after we’d lost every single time I’d been here, it makes it exciting.’’

To do so with scoring balance was even more impressive.

Rodney McGruder’s recent sizz as the top Big 12 scorer in conference play was scaled to a 14-point effort. He still shared team-high scoring honors with Angel Rodriguez as the Cats overcame 36 percent shooting.

“Our team confidence is starting to grow again, and I’m excited about that,’’ Martin said.